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Orlando Magic: 3 players who need big final stretch after the hiatus

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic during the team's intro before the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Amway Center on February 8, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The Bucks defeated the Magic 111 to 95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic during the team's intro before the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Amway Center on February 8, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The Bucks defeated the Magic 111 to 95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

2. Aaron Gordon

If Ross is the flamethrower off the bench who keeps things cooking for the Orlando Magic, then Aaron Gordon is the two-way player who has to hold it down on both ends of the court. This frustrating thing here though, is that we know Gordon is the best two-way player that the organization has right now (even in Jonathan Isaac one day could be, and in some ways already is), but he doesn’t always show it on both ends.

Defensively Gordon brings it almost every night, and is tasked with guarding an opponent’s best player. This is a job he does well. Offensively however he can be up and down, and the 14.4 points he is averaging on the season is disappointing. This number has been only marginally better during the last 10 games when their offense kicked into gear (15.4), so Gordon can’t take a lot of credit for that.

What makes this more frustrating is watching Gordon play, and it appears that if he was just a bit more aggressive, he could climb closer to 20 points a game easily. Two seasons ago he got to 17.6 and has never reached that number again. This is confusing because there is no doubt Gordon is a better player than he was two years ago.

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But imagine if he could take a step forward offensively, while also defending at the high level we have come to expect. The 30.1 percent he is shooting from deep in poor, but we know from two seasons prior that he is capable of getting up to around 34 percent. If he could get to that number the rest of the way, that would be a start.

The Orlando Magic are crying out for a superstar to take over the franchise, and although Gordon has been primed for this role on a number of occasions throughout his six years in the NBA, it has never happened for him. Injuries at the wrong times have not helped, but every time he has made the leap forward and gotten fans excited, he has then regressed back to what we’ve seen before.

If Gordon were to have a big final month for the Magic, it would be huge for their chances of nabbing the seventh seed and avoiding the Bucks in the first round. They still wouldn’t be favored to win a series or anything close to it, but after seeing what D.J. Augustin was able to accomplish with one shot last year, being competitive would be a start. Gordon finding some consistency for the rest of the season is central to that.

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